Fastener



April 26, 1960 G. wHY'rE FASTENER Filed Aug. 25, 1958 A un." u' 11111.

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fopaf Wfyrf ATTORN EY United States Patent 'C i FASTENER George Whyte, Livonia, Mich., assignor to Robert L. Brown, Ferndale, Mich.

This invention relates to a fastener and more particularly to a fastener which may be adjustably positioned after it has been assembled to its holding position.

Automobiles, particularly, are provided with moldings or other decorative materials which are applied to sectional parts such as the door panel, a portion of the body, or the fender. The panels of the door, body or fender are provided with apertures to receive fastening devices for supporting the moldings or decorative material, Often these apertures in the panels do not align with another panel and as a consequence the moldings do not align.

lt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fastener for such decorative material which may be readily adjusted to compensate for the mis-aligned apertures, bringing the decorative material to true alignment. l

Another object of the invention is to provide a fastener which when in its applied position 4to the panel may be rotated about its axial holding position in the panel to move the decorative material.

A further object of theinventionvis to provide molding or decora-tive holding devices on the fas-tener which are oifset from the centerof the fastener holding means such that, upon rotation of the fastener aboutits central holding means, the molding holding devices are shifted upwardly or downwardly to position the molding or decorative strip in alignment with the end of an adjacent strip.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l illustrates a portion of an automobile body, show ing panel portions having mis-aligned moldings or decorative strips;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the fastener secured to one of the panels, and a molding applied to the fastener, parts thereof being broken away and in section, and the dot and dash lines showing the fastener rotated about its holding axis for aligning the abutting ends of the molding;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through the fastener, panel and molding, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of the fastener shown in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the fastener shown in Fig. 4, taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 1 illustrates a decorative molding in two parts 10 and applied to the side of an automobile body. One portion of the molding 10 is applied to the door 12 of the body and the other portion 10 is applied to the fender 14. Fastener receiving apertures are provided in the door and in the fender. The aligned apertures in the door are supposed to be in alignment with the aligned apertures in the fender but often, due to inaccuracies in assembly, the apertures in the door do not align with the apertures in the fender. The result is that when the two part moldings are applied to the door and the fender, the abutting ends of the moldings are out of alignment, as in- ICC dicated in Fig. l. To overcome this objection, I have provided a shiftable fastening means for securely holdingl the molding to the body whichmaybe rotated about its holding axis to move themoldings into true alignment.

The fastener, shown in Fig. 2 and illustrating one form of the invention, comprises a sheet metal body portion 16 of generally circular formation having an upwardly ex tending peripherial flange 18 of generally V shape, one side of which slopes upwardly and outwardly, as at 20, to form a holding means for the moldingvand the other side 22 slopes upwardly and inwardly,divergent from the irst side, to form a guiding and spreading means for the.l two oppositely spaced and inwardly extending anges 24 of the molding 10. 1 .r Various types of securing means may be employed for securing the fastener to the supporting panel. The scour-' ing means herein illustrated, comprise a pair of tabsv 26 struck out of the base portion of the body portion 16 withv a central strip 28 of the body portion which separates the tabs. Each tab is bent upwardly out of the plane ofthe body portion, as at 30, and then reversely bent downwardly upon itself,'as at 32, through the opening 34 formed by the removal of the tab, to a point below the lower surface of the body portion. This point from the body portion exceeds the thickness of the supporting panel to which the fastener is applied. A depressed rib 36 is formed in the portion 32 for stiflening purposes.'

The outer free ends of the downwardly extending por? tions of the tabs are bent outwardly in opposite directions to form holding ears 32.- In the normal position, before the tabs are bent into their holding position, that portion of the tabs 30 extending above the plane of the body por; tion, extend on an angle of approximately forty tive de.- grees to the plane ofthebody portion 16 in divergent relation The holding ears 32 are in substantially4 parallel relation, spaced apart a distance for freely entering the aperture 38 in the panel-.12..

When the fastener is applied to the panel, the diverggent portions 30 are bent by'a suitable tool, such as a pair of pliers, to substantially parallel position. This bending action causes that portion of the tabs below the central strip 28 to be bent outwardly into tight holding engagement with the edge of the aperture 38 in the panel 12. The holding ear portions 32 are brought into holding engagement with the lower surface of the panel 1 2.

The tabs 26 are offset radially from the center of the circular body portion 16 and the circular upstanding flange 18, so that when the downwardly extending portions 32 of the tabs 26 are receivediin the aperture 38 of the supporting panel 12, rotation of the body portion 16', about the axis of the aperture 38, causes the ange 18 .to be moved upwardly or downwardly as a cam. This may be done by aligning the diametrically'opposite upper or lower edge portions of the flange 18, applied to the panel 12, with the upper or lower edges of the fasteners applied to the panel 14, before the molding is applied.

ln the form of the `fastener illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the body portion 49 is generally polygonal in shape having oppositely disposed straight sides arranged in pairs, about the perimeter of the polygonal shaped fastener. The -body portion 40 has a substantially at portion with its outer edge portions 42 depressed out of the plane of ilat portion for contact engagement with the supporting panel. The outer edge portions 42 are provided with upwardly extending V-sh-aped flanges 44, 46, 48, 5b, 52 and 54 having one side of the V sloping upwardly and outwardly, as at 56, to form a holdingmeans for the molding, and the other side 59 sloping upwardly and inwardly, to form a guiding and spreading means for two oppositely spaced and inwardly extending flanges 24 of the molding 10.

The securing means for the fastener to the supporting panel may be the same means as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, wherein tabs 26', struck out of the base portion, bentfupwardly out of the plane of the base' portion, as at 3G', and then reversely bent downwardly upon itself, as at 32', through the opening 34' formed by the removal ofthe tab, to a point below the lower surface of the body portion a distance to exceed the thickness of the supportingpanel to which the fastener is applied. The outer free ends of the downwardly extending portions-of the tabs are bent outwardly in opposite directions to form -holding ears 36.

The location of the tabs with respect to the flanges 44 through 54 Ais highly important to the invention. Assuming thevreference letter C designates the center of the `aperture 60, hereshown dotted, through'which the holding ears 36' of the tabs 26' extend, andthat thetabs are arranged to enterthe aperture 60, the `.spacing ofthe lfhanges `44 through 54 from the center Coftthe vtabs is represented by the dot and dash lines 1, 2, 3, 4 Yand-S; that is, the `flange 44 is located the shortest distance from the center C, illustrated by the line 1; iiange 46 is'located a greater distance-from the center C, illustrated by the line 2; ilangesa and 54 are equally spaced from the center C, illustrated by the line 3, a distance greater than Vthe line 2; tl'ange 52 is located a distance, illustrated by the line 4, greater than the line 3; and ilange 50 is located the greatest distance from the center C, illus- Atrated-by the line 5. The opposite flanges of each pair are spaced an equal distance apart, determined by the spacing of the inwardly extending anges 24 of the molding 10 to be secured by the fastener.

- By rotating the yfastener about the centerC when it is 4applied. tothe supporting panel, to any one of its plurality of positions, it will be understood that an opposite pair of holdingtflanges 44 through 54 assume a tions around the outer periphery thereof, the distance between the molding engaging portions in all of said sets being the same, means for securing the body t a supporting panel for rotation about an axis eccentric with respect to the center of the body whereby when the body is rotated about said axis on a supporting panel, the opposite molding retaining portions are shifted radially with respect to the axis of rotation.

2. A fastener as called for in claim 1 wherein said body is of circular shape and said securing means are located oft' center thereof.

3. A fastener as called for in claim 1 wherein said body lis a generally regularly shaped polygon.

4. A fastener as called'for in'claim 1 wherein said securing means comprise a pair of tabs struck out of said body.

5. A fastener comprising a body having ange means `around the outer peripherythereoh ysaid angc means having a plurality of sets of angularly related, diametrically lopposite molding retaining portions, the spacing between the diametrically opposite molding retaining portions being generally the samc'for all of said sets and means eccentric to the center of said body for rotatably securing the -body to a supporting panel.

6. A fastener as called for in claim 5 wherein said securing means are integral with said body.

7. A fastener as called for in claim 5 wherein said body is of circular shape and said flange means comprises a circular upstanding ange around thevcircum- Vferential edge of the body.

8. A fastener as called for in claim 5 wherein said molding retaining portions comprise a plurality of pairs 'varied position and that anattached molding stripmay References Cited in the le yof this patent UNITED STATES .PATENTS loupitch Sept. 21, "1954 Meyer Mar. 9, 1954 

